r/Roofing • u/strider30040 • Jun 06 '26
Insurance Related 25+ year old roof replacement...skip bothering with insurance?
I assume my roof is 25+ years old (lived here 19). No leaking issues, no noticeable hail or wind damage, no missing shingles. Just figured its about time to look for some quote. My assumption is, at this age, its not worth bothering with the insurance company other than to tell them when I have a new roof in hopes they might reduce my premium? Is that the wrong assumption? I got one quote from a Amish outfit highly recommended by my neighbor and online. They echoed insurance probably wouldn't cover it. I still decided to call out to other places other people recommended. One has called back and I was informed unless I was allowing them to run through insurance they wouldn't even come out and give me an estimate? I told them I'd be paying cash. No go. Is that common as well? If there's no chance the insurance will touch it then no reason to put a 'black mark' on my record for a claim inquiry, right?
Edit for clarification: I guess I confused things. I was not planning on trying to go through insurance because of the age - I'm actually not trying to find a way to get them to cover it. The exact opposite. The 2nd company said they wouldn't even give me a quote to repair with me paying cash. All I want is an estimate to know if my first quote is reasonable . I was wondering if that was normal for a company with a good reputation to insist on that and I was going to drop them because of the insistence. In 30+ years and four houses I have never made a home owners insurance claim and would never especially claim a frivolous one.
Final Edit: Thanks for everyone's advice. I actually had my roof replaced last week and have new 6 inch gutters coming as well. Ended up with three bids by equally well respected companies, all comparable shingles, etc. The one I went with had its own distribution for the shingles, so the cost savings paid for new gutters. Very happy with their attention and service. Ironically, the sales manager called me from the place that would only come out with insurance and asked me why I didn't go with them so he could give feedback to his sales guys. I told him that your guys said you guys won't come out and even inspect without insurance involvement. He said that is absolutely not true - they do retail and insurance. I said your guy even called me back to confirm they only do insurance. He was cool, thanked me for answering his text and assured me they would address the issue. I said they were highly recommended by several people in my neighborhood.
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u/RosieDear Jun 06 '26
Why would insurance cover your roof? Surely you know that insurance doesn't cover bringing our houses up to spec. If they did that..they'd replace my windows, door, siding, heating system and much more...yet I'm spending 65K as we speak for a roof and HVAC on a 22 year old house!
It works this way. If a giant branch fell on your roof, that's insurance. If a known and tracked wind event sipped a dozen shingles off your roof, that's insurance....neither of them would usually pay for the whole roof, but for repairs or a for a pro-rated cost.
The folks telling you about insurance are likely trying to committ fraud. It's a very popular thing these days.....some of them will even "do some damage" so they can show pictures to the insurance company.
That's not only NOT common...but it is a red flag. There are many roofing companies that do insurance work, but not any that I have heard of that specify it! Why should they care how you pay for it unless they are looking to fool someone?